I've moved on...
...to a different domain. Why, what were you thinking? The truth is, I just woke up one day and decided it's time for a change—a metamorphosis, if you will; or, in layman's terms, if Britney can shave her head, then maybe so can I? Nevertheless, it's been a rather handsome 10 years of talking to you, and thank you for putting up with all my moodswings and terrible dad jokes. Fear not! The hormonal imbalance and jokes are more terrible on CUBICLE, see you there.
Top – Helmut Lang. Skirt – Zara (similar). Boots – Stuart Weitzman

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creative direction SHINI PARK photography assistance SIMON SCHMIDT created for STUART WEITZMAN

You click, you add to cart, you open two more tabs, maybe a few more… add more stuff into baskets, rip a bit of your eyebrow out, chant ‘Velvet booties’ enough times to make it sound alien, Google “Is velvet sexy?”, land on Henry VIII’s Wikipedia page, cobble together a Bloody Mary from leftovers in your fridge… open more tabs…

See, sometimes, just sometimes, it’s nice to unplug yourself from the online shopping rut. For the sake of sanity, for the sake of you poor readers having to read that first paragraph. So out I went, equipped with a sturdy pair of boots, a bottle of water, a torch and a can of jungle bug-spray (how does one do this again?). I headed to the Stuart Weitzman flagship on 200 Regent Street, fixated on scratching the Velvet booties itch, but also because I wanted to touch EVERYTHING. Because opening 243 tabs wasn’t an option at home. I WANTED CHINESE BURNS ON MY ARMS FROM SHOPPING BAGS.

Top & sleeves – Emma Charles. Skirt – Dagmar. Boots – Stuart Weitzman.

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Dress – Emma Charles. Coat – Mango. Heels – Stuart Weitzman

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It’s incredible how easily you forget how much fun it is experience a store, to dip into the visual universe that no doubt many heads joined to bring about. This one is my ideal New York apartment: Sleek shelving, modular benches on minimal low-pile carpet and herringbone wooden peeking through. I did what I did best and open as many tabs as I could, just so I can say I made a throne at Stuart Weitzman and sat in it in thigh-high boots.

Dress & sleeves – Emma Charles. Boots – Stuart Weitzman

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Conversations
with
Christie’s
in collaboration with JW MARRIOTT GROSVENOR HOUSE
creative direction SHINI PARK photography assistance SIMON SCHMIDT

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‘Mother used to collect bags’, I remember, as the ceiling momentarily flashes a shade of red as a bus rattles by, catching the first light on a Tuesday morning. ‘Whatever happened to those, I wonder…’. The suite looks somewhat bigger in the morning, warmer. I’d been hoarding the covers again last night, his pillow lays at the far edge of the Queen bed, defeated, out of reach. He doesn’t mind, just like he doesn’t mind that I’m not a morning person. He sets off to explore Hyde Park on a jog as I scramble out of the sheets. When you peel the blinds and crane your neck just right, you can see the dog walkers on Park Lane.

It’s five past four in the afternoon, and the lobby is blissfully empty, save for a smiley porter in uniform by the revolving doors. There’s a pinch of musky oud on a swash of sweet leathery tang in the air, and a titter escapes from at an early-bird cocktail reunion at the Park Room. The ladies are all wearing the latest encrusted Dior flats. “A pot of Earl Grey please, no milk” I request, as I slide into the deep green couch near the quilted leather walls. I decide against the sachet of sweetener as I overhear bits of sugary gossip between strangers from behind the art deco shelving.

The caramelized marshmallows give way to a cinnamon-y mash of sweet potato. I make a funny noise and he laughs, gobbling a bite of New York Strip off his fork. We wash it down with an Argentine Red, recommended by the host. “We were born in the wrong century,” I surmise, and proceed to painting a picture of The Grosvenor House House in post-war 50’s: teeming with politicians, haughty women of power, and affable families, using a bit of the cheesecake dessert to describe the Dior two-piece I’d have worn to dinner at the JW Steakhouse.

Top: Shoes – Christian Louboutin. Luggage – Vintage via eBay.
Left: Glasses – Miu Miu via David Clulow. Earrings – Joumanna Jewellery. Bag – Louis Vuitton.

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Dress – HariTHanD. Hat – Vintage.

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Blazer & trousers – Filippa K. Shirt – Iris & Ink.

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Glasses – Miu Miu via David Clulow. Jacket – HariTHanD. Skirt – Dagmar. Earrings – Joumanna.

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Don’t miss the seafood tasting menu at Corrigan’s Mayfair
JW Marriott Grosvenor House

Art and history is second nature to JW Marriott Grosvenor House , opened in 1929 for the very purpose of tailoring to a grand scale. The hotel boasts some 500 bedrooms and a rich portfolio of clients (including the Queen, who is known to have learnt to skate in the ice rink – now the Great Room). Conversation with Christie’s is a series of inspiring and informative features, along with global events across the JW Marriott properties showcasing some of rarest treasures, in collaboration with Christie’s, world-renowned art collectors and auction-house based out of Rockerfeller Plaza, New York. September 5th, we met the teams at the inaugural event in London, and shot this story around the art of appraisal of an iconic vintage Hermes bag, in a cheeky daydream re-enactment of The Grosvenor House in the glorious 50’s.

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Grosvenor House
JW Marriott Hotel
86-90 Park Ln, London W1K 7TN
+44 20 7499 6363
www.marriott.co.uk/
Tux jacket & Trousers – Filippa K. Blouse – Iris & Ink. Bag – Vintage Louis Vuitton

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Top – Dagmar. Trousers – Rodebjer via Zalando. Shoes – Sarah Flint. Necklace – Lali Shop & Vivienne Westwood.

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My Sexy
art direction SHINI PARK photography MR TRIPOD in collaboration with ZALANDO & CK

If you happen to know me in real life, or follow along on Snapchat, you know my reaction to fresh-baked pizza, glistening spaghetti, or a steaming burrito wrap: “YAAaaaARS”. As loud as possible, and with a roll of eyes that would knock down a ten-pin bowling line-up. One bite of said burrito would send shivers down my spine and I’d feel an odd sense that I, am in love, with this food, would like to procreate with it, sit under the stars, read poems together about salted caramel, and roast garlic over open flame. #LongTechnicallyInacurrateSentenceDontCare. So, what do I consider sexy, you ask? A bowl of phô wearing Agent Provacateur.

On occasion of Zalando’s #SHAREYOURSEXY #UK campaign with Calvin Klein Underwear, fronted by ultrababe Joan Smalls, here are a few other things that I think sexy: Food, great sense of humour underlined by dirty jokes and sarcasm – sharp enough to make sashimi out of any serious/non-serious situation – and nerds. Talk to me ONLY using lines from LOTR and you can be Ron to my Hermione (also must be proficient in at least two FPS games and own a gaming mouse).

What’s your Sexy?

Shirt – Jil Sander. Corset & Skirt – ASOS. Necklaces – Lali Shop, Louis Vuitton

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humour (aka dirty jokes)
AKA Any joke including your mum, weiners and farts, essentially, because we all know I have a mind of a 13-year-old. Great humour make my knees weak, especially the borderline-inappropriate kind, laced with darkness and dripping with sarcasm. Arrested Development, Rick & Morty, Natalie Tran – I’m looking at y’all.
geekery/nerdery
If you haven’t dissected your PC tower at age 15 and spent 4 days catching Mewtwo in Pokemon Red, then you wouldn’t know the joy in communicating solely  using lines from Star Wars/Trek, LOTR, Harry Potter, Marvel/DC comics, Sims (yes, the jibberish) and occasionally dirty lines from Game of Thrones – the books.

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good food, bad food (ALL THE FOODS)
Doesn’t matter if it’s been swimming in grease, or fresh-plucked out of the ground, food is my BFF and lover. More the cheese, the sexier it gets, though – that’s one equation that works every time.

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art direction SHINI PARK photography & styling TEAM PARK & CUBE created with support from THE SOFA & CHAIR COMPANY
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Draw me like one of your French girls
Meet Rose. Not named after colour but the fact that it pulls the user gradually down into a posture not unlike the ‘Draw me like one of your French girls’ scene in Titanic. You know this posture very well, one that epitomises comfort and general sexy vibes, yeah that one. And also the fact that technically it’s a two-seater but there sure ain’t any space for Jack on this surface once the Mindy Project goes on. (Sorry Leo) Arms splayed, one foot thrown over the backrest and the other somewhere in a Dorito’s bag – this how I like my 5-minute breaks.

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Blazer & Skirt – Filippa K. Trousers – Filippa K. Gold cap Heels – YSL. Clutch – Whistles (similar).

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Bracelet – Meriko London. Skirt – ASOS. Off-the-shoulder top – Topshop.

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…see the world one more time with rose-tinted shades.

Rose is a great gal, soft but of solid build, great legs too. One afternoon in May I had spent an embarrassing amount of time at the Sofa & Chair Company, doing laps around the showrooms and then poring over fabric books as thick as my forearm. They are known to specialise in bespoke, luxury furniture, and I was in the market for a sofa. If you follow on Pinterest you’ll have noticed this little corner of my brain that still hasn’t reached puberty, clearly one that saw an opportunity and yelled ‘PINK, Let’s just do pink’ after hours of umming and ahhing and many a frazzled nerves of those waiting for me to decide. Six weeks later I met Rose, and I was enamoured by the result. (It could’ve been worse, I have a secret Austin Powers board) The blush fabric (Fabric: KOBE – Samba 38) was pulled over the supple foam-wrapped feather cushioning of the Renoir, and the light bounced cheekily off the dimples created by pulled buttons covered also, in linen blush-pink fabric. A cloud-grey piping (KOBE – 8) swept the edges and married perfectly with the marble coffee table. I was in love.

Ignore my brash Dorito-infused lifestyle for a moment, I’m marking this sofa an icon of awesome spontaneity, and small a reminder to see the world one more time with rose-tinted shades before this sarcasm becomes my identity and it’s too late.

Stay tuned for Part 2: The (gruelling) customization process and a tour of the Sofa & Chair Company factory (specifically, a room filled floor-to-ceiling with pastel-coloured foam, or also known as CAN I HAS DIS).

Shoes – Senso. Coat – Filippa K

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Jumpsuit – Dagmar.

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Coat – Dagmar. Asymmetrical skirt – Dagmar (stocked at Harrod’s). Shoes – Gianvito Rossi (similar lower price). Bag – Louis Vuitton Vivienne. Cross-ring – Elizabeth & James (via Revolve). Rings – Monica Vinader. Leopard keyring – Charlotte Olympia. Pear & cage Bracelet – Razan Alazzouni. Round bracelet – Monica Vinader

I know the title hints on an impending rant about how I am yet again here to renew my vows to this blog and give yet another go on becoming a better blogger/designer/human being… but fear not, I have fully accepted the fact that I am a kebab-munching, inconsistent internet person with an aversion to showering. Everything else will need to happen around this smelly SpongeBob CubePants. The weather in London has just turned a corner into coldsville and I’m simply enjoying the fact that I can drape a big coat over any old thing and call it an outfit. A bit like shoving dirty laundry under the bed, I suppose, monsters and all. Funny thing with this grey Dagmar number (stocked at houseofdagmar.com) is that it comes with the black knitted gilet so – if I might let you in on a secret – I’m technically wearing nothing but a breeze under this coat. Talk about a new leaf, this one’s turned a whole tree into tart territory…

Also, before you ask why it is I’ve attached a toothbrush onto my glasses, the eye contraption you see in the photos are actually the notorious Google Glass, fitted onto a DVF frame (DVF | Made For Glass). Witness as my life & body molds around this gadget and finally I’ll be able to upload my first video on Youtube with a unique skillset of being able to move my eyeballs completely independent of eachother. Attraction.

 

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